


Before the Storm

by danveresque



Series: Moments Inbetween [4]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-12 03:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20141980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danveresque/pseuds/danveresque
Summary: Aaron's doing fine.





	Before the Storm

The shit had finally hit the fan.

For weeks Aaron had been walking around worrying about Robert tripping and falling into a chaotic hole of his own making. He just couldn’t stop obsessing, just couldn’t sit back and let Vic handle things the way she wanted. Aaron didn’t blame him, god, _of course_ not. But Robert had been treading a dangerous path with no concern for himself. He was putting his life with Aaron on the line, putting their future on the line. He was hurting himself, and he couldn’t even see it.

Aaron was petrified. There was a chaotic jumble in his chest that nightly screamed, _you are going to lose him. _The jumble momentarily became unstrung and fell into a screeching flat line the moment Aaron saw Lee lying on the lawn of The Mill. There was only one explanation, wasn’t there? The bruised idiot who finally looked scared of what he’d done. _God_ Aaron was angry. _This_ was exactly what he’d been afraid of; things going so far there was no turning back from them. 

His blood turned to ice when the police turned up. Robert looked rightly petrified. _Oh, so now you’re getting it_, Aaron had wanted to snap. But they were coming for Robert, and there would be plenty of time to shout and scream if Robert managed to get out of this mess. As a police officer headed towards them, Aaron reminded him one last time, careful and for Robert’s ears only, “Self-defense.”

He put an arm around Robert, his hand squeezing Robert’s shoulder, nodding to the police officer, telling her, “Uh...my husband’s been hurt too.”

Robert said nothing, just staring at the ambulance, shell-shocked and shaking under Aaron’s grip. The police officer frowned at him, looking a little concerned at his state, and something tight loosened a little in Aaron’s chest. 

“Sir? Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get that looked at.” Robert stared at her like he didn’t quite hear what she said and Aaron gave him a worried look. The officer turned to Aaron. “Why don’t you stay with him, I’ll get the paramedic.”

Aaron nodded, letting out a breath when she turned away. He gave Robert a look, a reminder about what he had said. 

## *

The rest of the day was counted in cups of tea. They carted Robert away once they knew he was the other half of the altercation. Vic stood there with both hands clasped to her mouth, eyes filled with tears, and Diane next to her, holding her close as she looked confused and distraught. Aaron stood there, calm and quiet, his eyes meeting Robert’s as they guided him into the car. Robert still looked in shock, but gave Aaron that nod which meant, ‘don’t worry.’

“What if he dies?” Vic asked Diane. “That’s not what I...I didn’t mean it.”

Aaron looked at them both, Diane comforting Vic. “He won’t, pet. He won’t.”

Aaron’s gaze went back to the police car taking Robert away, the crowd long gone. He scratched at his chest, the fabric of his sweater feeling too close to his itching and buzzing skin. He swallowed thickly. “Why don’t we get inside? I’ll um...I’ll put the kettle on.”

It was a long afternoon of listening to Diane unable to believe Robert would do something so stupid. Aaron stared at her, wanting to ask her if she’d ever met Robert I’ve Got A Dumb Plan That Will Piss Off At Least Ten People Sugden. He wasn’t sure how Robert did it, how he made people forget that he was chaos wrapped in a tall, blond and insufferably smug package. That he somehow managed to bring calm to Aaron’s life despite being the dickhead who went around having people’s wedding rings inscribed with ‘village idiot' and ‘village bike’ was a mystery, 

“He’s really messed up this time,” Vic said with a shake of her head, looking devastated. Lee was scum, but she didn’t want him dead. Robert was an idiot, but she couldn’t lose him. Aaron had nodded and said, “Yeah. I know.”

“Sorry. You must be worried sick,” she said, her eyebrows pushing together with guilt. Aaron shrugged, offering up a small and forced smile. Vic glanced at the clock. “He’s been gone ages.”

“They’ll be wanting all the details,” Aaron said. He sighed and added, “Over and over usually.”

“What if...what if they keep him? Can they do that?” Vic asked. Somewhere in the background Diane had stopped loudly drying dishes. 

“If they think they’ve got enough...” Aaron said, his throat closing up just a bit. There it was. A twisting and turning feeling in his chest, threatening to take up all the space in his lungs. He swallowed against it, scowling as he got up and said, “l’ll um...I’ll phone the station. See if I can find anything out.”

Phone in hand, he headed upstairs and into his and Robert’s bedroom. He shut the door and sat down on the edge of the bed, spending the next twenty minutes finding out exactly nothing useful. Gripping the phone, he closed his eyes, breathing slowly, ignoring the chaotic thoughts in his mind. Blowing out a breath, he unlocked his phone, opening up the gallery, thumbing through photographs that went right back to their wedding. 

He stopped and smiled at one from their honeymoon. It was of Robert lying entangled in the bedsheets, his hair a wild mess, and a grin on his face as he squinted in Aaron’s direction. The next one had Aaron in Robert’s tight one-armed hold, the phone in Robert’s hand, his long reach capturing both of them. He’d sat up and pulled Aaron to him, kissing him long and leisurely as if they had all the time in the world.

“Come here you,” he had said, his hand extracting the phone from Aaron’s hold, before he maneuvered them both into position for a joint selfie. 

Aaron remembered just staring at Robert in silence for a few moments, wondering how it was possible that he had exactly what he wanted. He’d wanted Robert or so long, and now he was here, his, forever. Robert grinned at him, the same grin that hadn’t disappeared from his face since they were officially declared husbands. His gaze flicked to Aaron’s mouth as he murmured, “What are you looking at?”

Aaron grinned, feeling drunk on happiness for the moment. It was soft, but he happily confessed, “My husband.”

Robert’s expression shifted to something that made his eyes look a little bright as he smiled. He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to Aaron’s mouth, telling him, “I love you.”

Aaron smoothed his thumb across the image of Robert who lay there smiling brighter than the sun. Even the memory of that moment brought calm, made him breathe a little easier. 

The photograph disappeared to show Aaron that his mum was calling, the sound of the ringer almost making him jump out of his skin. He let out a breath and answered, barely managing to get out a hello.

“What’s this I’m hearing about someone being carted away in an ambulance from your place?” she asked. “What’s happened?”

Aaron rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “The bloke who attacked Vic. Him and Robert got into a fight and Robert knocked him out. He was unconscious when they took him away. Police have got Robert.”

His mum was quiet for a total of five seconds before she demanded, “And I’m hearing about this from Jimmy why?”

Aaron shrugged with frustration. “_Because_. What am I supposed to say? Nice day for a Wild West mystery, by the way me husband might have killed a rapist by hitting him round the head with a shovel, oh and _could_ Diane dry dishes any louder?”

There was a long sigh on the other end. “Right. Well, I’m coming over.”

“_No_, Mum,” Aaron said, rubbing his forehead against the ache that was now building up behind it. “Look, Vic’s in a state, and Diane’s here with her. Robert...he’s not getting out until the police decide to let him go. There’s nothing for you to do here. And besides, you need to be thinking about the baby.”

“I am. _You’re_ my baby too,” she said. “While you’re looking after them, who’s looking after you?”

“Mum,” Aaron said, his voice getting unstuck. “I’m fine. Or as soon as Robert’s home, I will be.”

“I know, love. But I’m your mum, and I’m allowed to worry about ya,” she said. Aaron smiled, nodding. “Tell you what, though, I’d be giving your Robert a medal, not carting him down to the station.”

“Yeah, because you’re as bad as each other,” Aaron said. “Putting that..._scumbag_ in hospital’s not going to undo what he did.”

“I know,” came the regretful answer. “I know, love.”

“Look, I better go check on Vic. She’s not in a good way,” Aaron said. 

His mum was quiet for a while, but sounded unmistakably fond when she spoke. “Okay. And, listen, if you need me, I will be there in a second, you understand?”

“I know,” Aaron said softly, smiling a little. “I love you.”

“I love you too, son,” she said. He told her ‘bye’ and ended the call, gripping the phone for a second. There went his insides again, turning and churning, making it hard to breathe. He took a deep breath all the same, telling himself he’d be fine as soon as Robert was home.

## *

Aaron ordered pizza for dinner and it mostly went uneaten. Even Liv barely ate once she knew what was happening. She had given Aaron a single look and communicated all her fears effortlessly. Aaron could see without trying Liv’s mind immediately turning back to Aaron’s time in prison. Looking back, it felt as if they’d had to claw their way back out of that abyss and if it were ever to happen again...it didn’t bear thinking about. 

Liv went to bed early, Diane went home a little while later, leaving Aaron and Vic in the quiet of The Mill. Aaron took in the state of her, her eyes pink and puffy, the way she was tiredly curled up at the end of the sofa. “None of this is your fault, you know?”

Vic looked at him with thick tears blooming quick in her eyes, her chin wobbling in protest against her emotions (or at least that was how Aaron had come to interpret the Sugden chin wobble). She shook her head, grimacing. “How is it not? All of this, it ultimately comes back to me, doesn’t it? Because of what _he_ did?”

“Yeah. What _he_ did, Vic,” Aaron said. “_Lee_ did this. If Robert can’t handle it, that’s not your fault. You can’t be beating yourself up about this.”

“If he goes to prison, you could lose him,” Vic said. “How can you-”

“‘Cause I know,” Aaron said roughly. “If I hadn’t stopped Cain from killing Gordon, Cain would probably be in prison now. I don’t know how I’d handle that on top of everything else. It’s hard enough dealing with...it’s hard enough, Vic. You can’t start blaming yourself for everything. And you’ve gotta think about your baby now.”

Vic smiled a little, wiping away the tears from her face. “You know, sometimes when I look at you two, I’m so jealous of him.”

“Shut up,” Aaron said with a small smile.

“I mean it,” she said, with familiar Sugden earnestness. “I’m so glad he has you. I hope he knows how lucky he is.”

“We both do,” Aaron said with a nod. “I know he messed up, but it’s because he loves you so much. Thing about Robert is, he’ll do anything for the people he cares about. He’s just...an idiot about it sometimes.”

Vic laughed, genuine and warm, nodding. “Yeah.”

“And...when this is all over, I am going to have a right go at him,” Aaron said. He nodded to her. “In fact, I think we both should.”

Vic shook her head, smiling a little. “He’s probably had enough of that.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, though he felt a rush of warmth in his chest. “Oh right. Sugdens sticking together, is it?”

Vic nodded at him, smiling. Aaron smiled back. Or at least, it felt like a smile. 

## *

Vic didn’t take him up on the offer of the spare room, saying she felt too awake. But he’d seen her when she stayed at The Mill, fighting sleep, staying on the couch with the telly on. Beds and the dark, Aaron thought as he walked into his own room, didn’t always make for a good sleep. He turned on the light and shut the door, leaning against it for a moment as he stared at his and Robert’s bed. It looked ridiculously big, though it wasn’t really. If anything, it was a little bit smaller than the bed they had once shared at the Woolie. Not that they ever needed space. Not in here. 

Aaron sat down on Robert’s side of the bed, his eyes travelling the length of the empty space there. Robert had made the bed as neatly as ever, as if someone was likely to check up on it later. Aaron sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. He wasn’t going to be able to sleep, was he? Not for long anyway. He lay down on top of the undisturbed duvet, arms folded against his body, curling up on one side and shutting his eyes. Robert wouldn’t be able to sleep, he thought. Not in some rank cell. Aaron’s mouth turned down unhappily at the thought. 

_And what about me? _It was such a selfish thought with everything that was going on, but he couldn’t help it. Yes, they’d spent nights apart, but not like this. This night felt endless. It felt like not having Robert anymore. It felt like those nights after Jackson died. Aaron had felt so hollow, as if a square piece of his chest was missing, and there was nothing he could do to feel inside that space. He could have cut right through it, and felt nothing. He closed his eyes against the thoughts bouncing around his head and let the exhaustion of the day force sleep onto him. 

Ever since Robert had become wrapped up in making Lee pay for what he did to Vic, there didn’t seem to be much sleeping going on their bedroom. If it wasn’t Robert going to bed late, waking up early, or plain not turning up at all, it was Aaron waking up at 2 or 3am in the morning, wandering down to the couch to avoid waking Robert, playing games or watching TV with bleary eyes until he’d fall asleep at around 5am. 

Aaron could guess at what was keeping Robert up, it wasn’t too hard to figure out. As for Aaron, it was the same old thing, creeping out of the darkest corners of his mind. And of course it was going to. When he found out about Jacob and Maya, of course there were things that just shot to the forefront of his mind. The memories were bad enough, but the self-questioning was what exhausted him. Even as he spoke to David about what Maya had done to Jacob, at the back of his mind was that ever present question, _what if I didn’t do enough, what if I could have stopped him?_

But he was fine. He could deal with it. His little world was still near enough perfect. Liv was doing well. Paddy and his mum were expecting. Natalie had come around and he and Robert would be able to expand their family - eventually. Only then that night happened. That ugly word rape was there again, pressing against his mind like the relentless sharp pain of a paper cut. Still, they _could_ deal with it. They just had to focus on Vic, that was all that mattered. As long as they remembered to be there for her, he and Robert could handle it together. 

Only there was the baby, _Lee’s_ baby. Robert had made it clear that there was no loving the child of a monster. He might have regretted his words, but they were out there, and they were true. Aaron had spent years asking himself what he was if Gordon was evil. How could he be the flesh and blood of a man like Gordon and be good? It wasn’t just his body that had been tainted, his blood, his DNA, it was..._bad_. 

“I’m sorry. About earlier.” Aaron had flinched at the apology, caught off guard as he stared vacantly at the telly. Robert had sat down next to him and he hadn’t even noticed. He frowned at Robert. He could see the regret, but it wasn’t about what Robert felt, it was just about hurting Aaron. Giving Aaron a sheepish look, he said, “Big mouth running away with itself as usual.”

“That baby’s innocent, Rob,” Aaron said quietly. “It doesn’t deserve your hate.”

“I know,” Robert said with an eager nod, willing to agree with anything Aaron said. Tomorrow he’d probably go back to thinking Vic was carrying the anti-Christ. He scooted closer, angling his head just a little, a soft look on his face. His hand was on the back of the couch, still careful. “I love you.”

Aaron nodded, offering a tired smile. “I love you too.”

That was probably _that_ as far as Robert was concerned. They’d made up until the next time he’d open his gob without thinking. Only, that night Aaron went to sleep and as he slept he felt the slow secret pull of his duvet until he was lying there trying to curl away from the cold air, into the pillow, into the mattress. His heart was thudding hard in his chest with fear, and he was shaking, not just because of the cold. The mattress dipped under a heavy weight. Even with his eyes closed, he saw the darkening of shadows, something creeping close.

He awoke with a start, shaking hard. The memories of what Gordon had done to him slammed hard into his mind and there were tears running down his face before he could even register them. The present seemed to take forever to come back to him, for him to remember this was his bedroom in The Mill, that sleeping figure was Robert, and that Gordon was dead. Aaron clamped a hand over his mouth and left the room, not letting out the stifled sob until he stood in the kitchen, his hands gripping the edge of the counter. 

It took a few minutes for the terror to subside, to remind himself that he was a man, not a boy, that Gordon was never coming back, and could never hurt him again. He blinked away the tears, splashed water on his face, and took a few deep breaths, turning to look at his home. It should have been annoying how little Aaron contributed to the decor of The Mill, but at the same time, being here meant having Robert all around him. Being here felt like being kept safe in someone’s heart. 

He made his way back to bed, feeling just a little lighter. Robert seemed half awake when Aaron climbed back in next to him. Aaron was still getting comfortable when Robert blindly made a grab for his wrist, blearily asking, “Where’d’you go?”

Aaron allowed himself to be pulled close where Robert wanted him. “Snack.”

“Barely ate. Not surprised,” Robert mumbled against Aaron’s temple. 

Aaron frowned, lying there with one of Robert’s arms thrown across his stomach, the other under Aaron’s shoulders. Once he might have felt trapped like this, Gordon still doing his worst inside Aaron’s head. But Robert was lying here lumpen against him, softly snoring in his ear, holding onto Aaron as if his life depended on it. Aaron brought up his hand to curl his fingers around Robert’s wrist and closed his eyes. If he had more bad dreams, it wouldn’t matter. Robert was right here.

## *

Two hours was the most Aaron got. He woke feeling sluggish, heavy and tired, but not enough to fall back to sleep. He sat there on Robert’s side of the bed, scrolling through his phone, checking for messages, and then staring at his side of the bed. It seemed no easier to see that side of the bed empty than Robert’s. It still meant the same thing. By the time he went back downstairs, the time he should have been getting ready for work, Robert still wasn’t home. 

Vic was right. This was serious, even if Aaron was trying not to think about it. But Robert had been charged for less with Billy, hadn’t he? Only Lee wouldn’t drop the charges. No, he got off on making people’s lives a misery. He’d love it, wrecking Robert’s life as well. Scum. He would have been better dead, just...not like this. Aaron sighed, choosing to just listen to Vic. It helped. He didn’t particularly want to voice his own fears. It didn’t make him feel any less like he was about to fall apart when Robert walked in. 

Robert didn’t look as scared as before. He’d probably managed to convince himself by now that Lee got exactly what he deserved. Shameless didn’t quite cover Robert. Aaron just watched from the back seat of his mind as Robert asked Vic to back him up, as they took her to the station to give her statement, and even as she stood there in the pub telling them all what Lee had done. It seemed surreal. How was any of this even happening? How was he able to ask Vic to expect Lee to feel remorse one day, when Aaron still felt so twisted inside by Gordon?

What could he say though? Bad things happen. Somehow you manage to find happiness though. Somehow the good and bad learn to live together in your head. He couldn’t tell her that. It would mean telling her that having Robert was what kept the bad at bay. Having Robert was what made things better. How could he say that when Robert looked like he was on the verge of being snatched away? Attempted murder, the police had said, if Lee didn’t wake up. 

They went back to The Mill after having _that_ fantastic news broken to them. Vic and Diane stayed for a while, both of them eyeing Robert with sympathy, not noticing at all how every time the words ‘self-defense' came up, Robert’s jaw clenched, his eyes fixing on something no one could see. He wasn’t going to tell them, was he? He needed them. 

Aaron watched him sitting there once Vic and Diane left, long legs spread apart in a sprawl, eyes closed and forehead in the grip of his hand. Aaron breathed in, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You alright?”

Robert’s hand dropped, and he shook his head. He looked so annoyed it was laughable. Scowling, he answered, “No.”

Aaron offered up half a nod. “Must be tired.”

Robert’s chin quivered before twisting unhappily into something angrier. He swallowed it down and looked up at Aaron with bright eyes. His apology sounded strained when he said, “I’m so sorry.”

Aaron sighed, shaking his head, reaching for Robert before he even sat down. “Oi. Come on.”

Robert gave him a pained look. “Last night, I thought...I thought it was over, Aaron. I thought I might never see you again.”

“Don’t,” Aaron said, shaking his head, pulling Robert close. They held each other tightly, Aaron’s fingers sliding up into Robert’s hair, his hand curling protectively around the nape of his neck. “You’re not leaving me. I won’t let ya.”

Robert’s hold tightened around him, and Aaron could feel his hot breath in the crook of his neck where Robert buried his face. They stayed like that for a while, gratefully wrapped up in each other.

“I missed you,” Aaron said quietly. “Last night.”

Robert was supposed to laugh and say it had only been a night. He was supposed to gently poke fun at Aaron in a way that only made Aaron love him more. Only, he said, “I missed you. It was like…”

Aaron pulled back to look at the haunted look in Robert’s eyes. “Come on. Not the first time you spent the night in lock up, is it? Forgotten Christmas already?”

Robert offered up a smile, but it was tight, pained. Aaron knew a smile that wasn’t a smile. But Robert knew Aaron, and he must have seen the worry in Aaron’s eyes, because his smiled morphed to show a flash of teeth and then his hand was reaching up to up Aaron’s cheek before pulling him close for a kiss. 

When they pulled apart, Aaron felt his eyes stinging. Robert looked a little disappointed. His distraction tactics hadn’t quite achieved what he wanted. “Aaron,” Robert he said softly. “Whatever happens-”

“No,” Aaron said thickly. He gave Robert a firm nod. “Everything’s going to be okay. You listening to me? Whatever happens? It’s going to be okay.”

Robert’s mouth twitched into a soft little smile. “That right? Says who?”

“Says me,” Aaron said with a firm nod. He’d hoped before, and the universe had moulded itself to the shape of Aaron’s hopes, and it had given him Robert, and Liv, this home. So yeah, he thought, _says me_. “Yeah?”

Robert nodded, and tension seemed to leave his body for the moment. “Alright. Whatever you say. Mr Sugden.”

Aaron smiled at him. Grabbing Robert’s hand, he got up and lead him upstairs. Robert liked his distractions, and Aaron was more than happy to distract if it meant having Robert where he could see him and touch him. They fell into bed, all over each other, frenzied. Aaron’s mind played tricks on him though, memories of long gone encounters sparking across his skin, of all those times they went at each other as if all they had were those precious moments. 

Robert kissed and held him with an unnerving desperation. As distractions went, it seemed to fail miserably, leaving them clinging to each other as if someone was likely to come and pry them apart. Even in his sleep, Aaron was trapped in dark corridors where he’d lost sight of Robert, calling out his name and not finding him, seeing instead a woman whose face was obscured by the flash of the phone she was holding up. Aaron thought he heard her laugh. 

He awoke with a start, worried about waking Robert, only to find Robert standing by the bed, still as a sculpture, his gaze fixed on the floor. Aaron slowly sat up, watching him carefully. 

“Rob. Robert,” he called softly. Robert said nothing, a vacant look on his face as he continued to stare. Aaron had seen this before, but never gotten an explanation. All he knew was...he didn’t want to know. Aaron slowly moved to Robert’s side of the bed, gently touching his hand. “Robert.”

Robert frowned, but didn’t look at Aaron until his name had been called a few more times. Then he scowled, utterly confused. “What’s happened?”

Aaron shook his head. “Nothing. Just a bad dream. Come on, get back in bed.”

Robert frowned, a tortured look on his face as he miserably went back to looking at the floor. “I didn’t mean it.”

Aaron squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, jaw clenching. After a breath, he tried again, tugging slightly on Robert’s hand, softly telling him, “I know. It’s alright. Come on, why don’t you lie down, yeah?”

Robert let himself be pulled back into bed, still in some strange state of sleeping and waking. It took a few minutes of cajoling to get him to lie down, but then he was reaching for Aaron, blinking tiredly. “What happened?”

“Bad dream,” Aaron told him quietly, patting the back of his hand. “It’s alright. Try and get some sleep.”

“Sorry,” Robert said, not explaining his apology. Maybe it was just force of habit, Aaron thought grimly. “Aaron.”

“I know,” Aaron said, letting out a huff of an exasperated laugh. “Shut up and go to sleep, will ya?”

A sigh and a deep breath later, Robert was asleep, his heavy limbs draped across Aaron. Aaron’s grimaced against the tremors rippling across his face, the tears stinging his eyes, his hand curling tight around Robert’s arm. It’ll be okay, he told himself. Everything would work out. Robert had a knack after all for both cocking up and weaseling his way out of tricky situations. Robert was _not_ going to get locked up because of the likes of Lee. No way.

Aaron turned towards Robert, pressing in close, wanting him so much it hurt. Robert, in whatever state of sleep, complied with Aaron’s demands by pushing in close too, his arms around Aaron. Somehow Aaron fell asleep, despite the carousel of fear spinning in his head.

## *

When morning came, he was still pressed up against Robert, and he awoke to his husband's amused smile. 

“Morning,” Robert said, his voice still laced with sleep. Aaron blinked at him silently. “See you’re making moves on me while I’m sleeping.”

Aaron nodded. “Good. You’re making jokes.”

“Okay. I deserve that. If it means anything, I’m still sorry for this mess.” Aaron nodded, his response the turning down of his mouth. “And I’m meeting with my solicitor later to see what I can do to get out of it.”

“Right,” Aaron said, aware that Robert was unlikely to take his mood seriously considering he wasn’t even trying to move out of Robert’s hold. “That easy is it?”

“No,” Robert said, just the smallest speckling of irritation appearing across his forehead. “It probably won’t be easy, but do you really see me going down without a fight?”

Something unclenched in Aaron’s chest. Robert, even with the worst record for successful scheming, did in fact have a stellar record for getting out of sticky situations. Of course he wasn’t just going to walk into prison. Not for someone like Lee. Of course he was going to fight. 

Aaron rolled towards Robert, pulling him close. “You better not.”

Robert pulled back and smiled. “I promise. It’s going to be alright, Aaron.”

Aaron smiled, nodding. _Be strong for him_, he told himself, wading through the waves of fear, swatting away the chaotic thoughts. Everything would be alright. As long as he believed that, he could be as strong as Robert needed. 

“You okay?” Robert asked, stroking Aaron’s arm.

"Yeah." Aaron nodded, offering a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”


End file.
